Browsing by Subject "Foreign relations"
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Item Dividing the water at Fort Quitman : a discussion of binational allocation and dynamic treaty interpretations(2016-05) Henley, Marion Hope; Eaton, David J.; Rubinstein, Carlos; Niemeyer, SteveThis report discusses the binational water allocation of the Rio Grande between the United States (U.S.) and Mexico. The International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico (IBWC) is charged with the administration and enforcement of treaties and other international agreements governing this watercourse, including but not limited to the Convention of 1906 and the Treaty of 1944. These two treaties establish an upper and lower segment of the Rio Grande. The 1906 Convention allocates water to Mexico and the U.S. in the transboundary segment from El Paso to Fort Quitman, about 90 miles away. The 1944 Treaty governs the watercourse from Fort Quitman to the Gulf of Mexico. Water allocation at Fort Quitman is indefinite in these treaties because the location represents a “terminus” point of the two segments. A plain-language interpretation of the treaties indicates the flows reaching this gage actually belong 100 percent to U.S., and therefore to Texas water rights holders, due to a waiver of rights by Mexico in the 1906 Convention for all flows in the upper segment. However, the established practice of the IBWC since the 1950s is to allocate those waters equally between Mexico and the U.S. (“50/50”). Research into IBWC materials reveals that this 50/50 allocation practice was established ad-hoc. There is no diplomatic evidence of agreement between the nations to justify the 50/50 allocation. Indeed, the current allocation practice at Fort Quitman contradicts the actual treaty text. The IBWC has not exercised its authority to establish the 50/50 allocation lawfully. Recommendations to remedy the matter include returning all the flows at Fort Quitman to the U.S. and Texas, to mandate the 50/50 practice through legal and diplomatic policy-making mechanisms. Another issue is whether Mexico ought to compensate the U.S. for the 2.1 million acre-feet it has received since the informal water allocation began in 1958 in contradiction to the treaties.Item How The Times of London covered and interpreted Russian expansion into Central Asia in the second half of the nineteenth century(Texas Tech University, 2000-05) Yetisgin, MemetRussian expansion into Central Asia in the second half of the nineteenth century had a major impact on British foreign policy. The British had long begun to view Russian expansion toward the Balkans, the Near East, and the Caucasus as a very dangerous development to their imperialist interests. They thought that Russia would one day attempt to invade India, the crown of the British colonial possessions. This perceived threat was hotly debated among almost all educated segments of British society. In this debate. The Times of London played an important role by providing fresh news, commentaries, and discussions of the subject. Though The Times often supported the official policy of the British Government, it did not fail to provide a wide variety of opinions. It offered a forum to two major political groups, the "alarmists," or the supporters of an active and militarist policy, and the "masterly inactivists," or the advocates of a rather passive policy. Besides its journalistic and popular approach to the issue, The Times presented a well-balanced discussion for possible solutions of the problem. In a sense, The Times became a popular organ for politicians, historians, researchers, military strategists, and journalists to reach the public through insightful debates. Besides its enormous contribution to reporting and interpreting Central Asian politics and to shaping public opinion, The Times closely monitored Russian social, economic, political, military, and commercial development in the region. By doing this, it created a history of Central Asia during this period. Yet, judging from the imperfect knowledge that the contemporary journalists, politicians, and historians had about Central Asia, and again judging from Eurocentric and pseudo-scientific concepts held by many of these people, the history presented in The Times must be carefully scrutinized with the aid of other historical sources. However, in the final analysis, The Times' coverage of the Central Asian question created insightful day-to-day accounts of important historical events.Item Media cold warriors of Operation Pedro Pan : examining the impact of U.S. Cold War rhetoric on contemporary U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba(2011-05) Vail, Meghan Elizabeth; Arroyo-Martínez, Jossianna"Media cold warriors of Operation Pedro Pan" is a case study in which I examine the impact of 1960s Cold War rhetoric on contemporary U.S.-Cuba policy. In my report, I contextualize the 1960s covert U.S. endeavor Operation Pedro Pan and draw parallels between the media portrayals of Pedro Pan children from the 60s and the discourse utilized by adult Pedro Panes today to market their immigration experience to contemporary voters and younger generations of Cuban Americans. Operation Pedro Pan was intended to undermine the Castro Government and accomplish democracy in 1960s Cuba. I argue, however, that because of the contemporary publicity surrounding Pedro Panes and their use of the same Cold War rhetoric to characterize their immigration experiences, the children of Operation Pedro Pan will ultimately prevent the same achievement of democracy in Cuba that the covert endeavor purported to accomplish in the 1960s.Item The United States Military Assistance Advisory Group in French Indochina, 1950-1956(2012-02-14) Weber, Nathaniel R.This thesis examines the American Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) sent to French Indochina, from 1950 to 1956, when the United States provided major monetary and material aid to the French in their war against the communist Viet Minh. MAAG observed French units in the field and monitored the flow of American materiel into the region. Relying upon primary research in the National Archives, the thesis departs from previous interpretations by showing that MAAG held generally positive assessments of France?s performance in Indochina. The thesis also argues that MAAG personnel were more interested in getting material support to the French, than in how that material was used, to the point of making unrealistic assessments of French combat abilities. By connecting primary research with the greater history of Cold War American military assistance, the thesis contributes to the scholarship on American involvement in Vietnam.Item War initiation by weaker powers : Georgia-Russia war 2008(2010-08) Cherkasova, Anna, 1987-; Busby, Joshua W.; Wynn, ChartersThis paper tries to determine to what extent US diplomatic and military support for Former Soviet Union (FSU) countries influences these countries’ decisions to become more assertive in the region, thereby provoking Russia’s aggressive behavior. It employs Robert Jervis’s framework of ‘deterrence and perception’ which, among other things, suggests that a weaker state will or will not be deterred from initiating a conflict against its stronger adversary depending on whether this state receives strong signals of third-party support and whether this state receives strong signals of threat. The case studies explored are Georgia and Ukraine, with particular attention to both countries’ relations with the United States (as the source for third-party support) and Russia (as the source for threat). The main finding is that Georgia’s perception of the US support was not sufficient to motivate Georgia to invade South Ossetia and thereby initiate a five-day war with Russia in August 2008. Georgia’s perception of Russia’s threat to carry out the policy of “creeping annexation” of South Ossetia and Abkhazia was the primary motivator behind Georgia’s behavior.